Gardens of the World 48"w x 71"h © 2001 Available Left to Right, Top to Bottom Bodnant Garden, Wales & Golden Rock, Nevis Luxor Temple, Egypt & Japanese Tea Garden, San Fran Keukenhof Park, the Netherlands & Hagia Sophia, Turkey For Sale contact clvquilts@yahoo.com Materials: Acrylic on cotton, beads, silk flowers, twigs, yarn Techniques: hand quilted, trapunto, applique, reverse applique, painted, embroidered, embellished Statement: There's nothing like the peace of a garden. Originally made for the 2001 Philadelphia Flower Show, this quilt hung in the 2002 Winter Olympics and toured the world aboard the Crystal Serenity in 2005. We visited Luxor Temple and Hagia Sohpia during the world cruise!

The Story Behind "Gardens of the World" Quilt:

This quilted wall hanging was originally made for the Philadelphia Flower Show. The dimensions and color palette of Moss Green, Slate Blue, Dusty Rose, and Creme were requirements for the booth it was displayed in. I decided to elaborate on the 2001 show's theme of 'Great Gardeners of the World' and portray six famous gardens.

Phase One began with several searches on the web, multiple trips to the library, and leafing through many gardening magazines. I struck a gold mine by popping in a travel agency and asking for garden tour brochures.

Phase Two started with minimal outline sketching of the scenes on light cream broadcloth. I stretch the fabric over a pvc frame and spray it with water. Then I paint with acrylics in a very watercolor like fashion. After the hand quilting is complete, I paint in the detailed features.

Photographic Collage of Bodnant Gardens, Wales	Hand painting Keukenhof Park, The Netherlands

Phase Three - embroidery, quilting, applique, and trapunto. For instance, the trunks of three palm trees of Luxor Temple are appliqued then trapuntoed to bring out the texture of the bark. Each tree has its own unique design of heavily embroidered palm fronds. For the Japanese Tea House's thatched roof, I gathered twigs from my back woods.

Detail of Luxor Temple palm fronds	Detail of Japanese Tea Garden tea house

Phase Four - detailed painting and embellishment. The Hagia Sophia fountain has a few hundred crystal, silver, and iridescent beads sewn on it. Between the metallic thread and the beads, the painted fountain sparkles like flowing water.

The cherry blossoms in San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden are pink & white catseyes. The moonbridge railing is rope.

Detail of Hagia Sophia fountain	Japanese Tea Garden stone temple

Judges Comments:

"Very creative piece. Beautiful piece. Fabrics well chosen and appropriate. Embellishments enhance design. Hand quilting design generally well done. Binding well applied." - Jan Rindge, NQA Certified Judge, Quilts Along the Bay

"Embellishments enhance design. Great idea - fun to see your knowledge about the gardens. Color values consistent" - Judges, Peace Among Nations One Piece at a Time

Exhibitions:

• "Solo Exhibition" Ocean City Art Center, Ocean City, NJ October 2006
• Crystal Serenity world cruise January-April 2005
• "Febrero Mes del Quilt" Galerķa Sophia Wanamaker, San Pedro, Costa Rica, February 2004
• "Breaking Tradition: The Fiber Revolution", Chen Gallery, New Britain, CT March-April 2003
• "Flora & Fauna" Pavilion Gallery, Mount Holly, NJ November 2002 - January 2003
• "Peace Among Nations One Piece At A Time" Winter Olympics special exhibition Salt Lake City, UT January 15-April 8, 2002
• Quilts Along the Bay Historical Society, Barnegat, NJ September 2001, 2nd Place in Large Wall -Mixed-Media
• Flora Exhibit Aullwood Audubon Center, Dayton, OH, April-May, 2001
• Fire and Lace booth #715, Philadelphia Flower Show, Philadelphia Convention Center, March, 2001